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FILE - This Sept. 20, 2012 file photo shows workers sweeping the plaza in front of the main entrance to the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York. A person familiar with the situation says the New York Islanders have struck a deal to move to Barclays Center as early as 2015. The person was not authorized to discuss the situation prior to an afternoon announcement, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012, and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Now hockey is coming to Brooklyn. The NHL's New York Islanders have agreed to move to Brooklyn's Barclays Center starting with the 2015-16 season.

Islanders owner Charles Wang made the announcement at a news conference Wednesday. He opened the session by exclaiming "Hello, Brooklyn!" The lease agreement is for 25 years.

Officials in Nassau County, N.Y., have struggled for years to come up with a plan to either renovate or build a new arena to replace the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which opened in 1972.

Wang had long threatened to move the team from the site when the team's lease expires after the 2015 season. He has complained that the dilapidated building is unsuited for a professional sports franchise.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says, "Brooklyn is big time and now we have the big league sports to prove it."

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